Jefferson Co. preps for in-person voting

A sea of signs line the entry to the Jefferson County Courthouse as candidates in local races vie for votes. Primary race winners will be announced after polls close Tuesday night. Photo taken Monday, March 2, 2020 Kim Brent/The Enterprise

A sea of signs line the entry to the Jefferson County Courthouse as candidates in local races vie for votes. Primary race winners will be announced after polls close Tuesday night. Photo taken Monday, March 2,

A sea of signs line the entry to the Jefferson County Courthouse as candidates in local races vie for votes. Primary race winners will be announced after polls close Tuesday night. Photo taken Monday, March 2, 2020 Kim Brent/The Enterprise

A sea of signs line the entry to the Jefferson County Courthouse as candidates in local races vie for votes. Primary race winners will be announced after polls close Tuesday night. Photo taken Monday, March 2,

All 400 voting machines in Jefferson County have been cleaned with disinfectant, and the County Clerk’s Office has stockpiled hand sanitzer and protective gloves for poll workers ahead of the first local elections since the coronavirus upended daily life.

“Now, we’re working on the guidelines for the number of people that will be allowed in polling locations and setting the process to clean the machines after each voter,” Clerk Carolyn Guidry said Tuesday.

What would help even more, she said, would be for the state of Texas to relax restrictions on mail-in ballots.

“I think it would be easier,” Guidry said. “We have to worry about getting enough poll workers even under good circumstances. But with mail-in ballots, everyone worries about their own ballot and sending it in and (they) don’t have to go to a polling location.”

On Monday, a coalition of voters and civil rights groups filed the most recent in a slew of lawsuits challenging state law on who can vote by mail in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest filing goes further than previous ones, arguing current rules deprive voters of constitutional rights in the middle of the pandemic. The first litigation, a lawsuit brought by the Texas Democratic Party, was ultimately affirmed by state District Judge Tim Sulak of Travis County.

Sulak’s ruling has since been appealed by the state. Attorney General Ken Paxton and other Republican leaders say it’s against state law to expand the privilege.

Texas law currently restricts voting by mail to registered voters who are 65 or older, have a disability or will be in jail or out of the county during voting.

Paxton says state election law defines disability as a “sickness or physical condition” that prevents in-person voting. Democrats want to allow more people to request a mail-in ballot because many are concerned about contracting the virus.

Meanwhile, the Texas Secretary of State’s Office has made some accommodations. It added five days to the early-voting period and agreed to cover the cost of sanitizer and other precautionary equipment for this year’s elections.

On Tuesday in Jefferson County, it was largely business-as-usual as Guidry went before the Commissioners Court to seek approval for early voting polling sites ahead of the July 14 primary runoffs.

The local Democratic Party has focused on efforts to encourage already-eligible people to apply for a mail-in ballot so they don’t confuse people based on the outcome of the lawsuits, Chair-elect Joseph Trahan said.

“The state party has made it clear that we should continue to promote vote-by-mail to eligible voters, which is what we’re doing with our phone bank,” he said.

On Wednesday, Jefferson County Republican Party Chair Judy Nichols said voters have had “tremendous leadership” from President Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Branick when it comes to protecting elections.

“There is much more room for errors with absentee ballots, and our county does not have the budget, facilities or human resources for a total vote by mail process, but we strongly encourage all eligible absentee ballot voters to participate by mail in the upcoming July 14th election,” she said.

Guidry said she already saw an increased number of people vote by mail in the March election and even more mailed ballot applications have continued to pour in. She wasn’t yet sure of the total number of people who have requested mail-in ballots.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome, she said she would rather see a decision be made sooner rather than later.